teleology
Study of ends
Teleology is the explanation of things in terms of their purposes or goals rather than their causes.
A teleological account of the eye would say it exists *for* seeing, rather than describing how it evolved.
The concept appears in philosophy, theology, and biology, where it raises questions about whether nature has inherent purposes or only appears to: Darwinian evolution replaced teleology with mechanism.
The adjective is teleological.
Desired end result
- aimPurpose or direction
- objectivePurpose or goal
- endFinal portion or cessation
- finalityState of conclusive completion
purposiveness · directionality · intentionality · goal-oriented · purposefulness · destination · culmination · outcome
Greek founder of formal logic
- four causesAristotle's explanatory framework
- unmoved moverSelf-sufficient first cause
- natural lawInherent moral principles
- essentialismDoctrine of fixed natures
causality · determinism · Plato · Leibniz · Kant · Hegel · Aquinas · metaphysics
Drive toward righteous ends
- human flourishingOptimal living and wellbeing
- good lifeFulfilling, pleasant existence
- consequentialismEthics judging by results
- utilitarianismGreatest-happiness moral theory
ends justify means · perfectionism · self-realization · ought · practical wisdom
Divine protective care
- divine planDeity's intended course
- creationismDivine origin doctrine
- intelligent designPurposeful cause over randomness
- theismBelief in deity
deism · cosmic purpose · eschatology · predestination · fate · destiny · divine will · creator
Fitting to new conditions
- natural selectionDifferential reproductive success
- functionPurpose or duty
- fitnessGood physical shape
- survivalRemaining alive against odds
Darwinism · organ function · instinct · behavior · trait · vestigial · maladaptation · spandrel
goal
Desired end result
finality · purposiveness · directionality · intentionality · goal-oriented · purposefulness · destination · culmination · outcome · fulfillment
Aristotle
Greek founder of formal logic
- four causesAristotle's explanatory framework
- unmoved moverSelf-sufficient first cause
- natural lawInherent moral principles
essentialism · causality · determinism · Plato · Leibniz · Kant · Hegel · Aquinas · metaphysics · ontology
moral purpose
Drive toward righteous ends
- human flourishingOptimal living and wellbeing
- good lifeFulfilling, pleasant existence
- consequentialismEthics judging by results
utilitarianism · ends justify means · perfectionism · self-realization · ought · practical wisdom
providence
Divine protective care
- divine planDeity's intended course
- creationismDivine origin doctrine
- intelligent designPurposeful cause over randomness
theism · deism · cosmic purpose · eschatology · predestination · fate · destiny · divine will · creator · theodicy
adaptation
Fitting to new conditions
- natural selectionDifferential reproductive success
- functionPurpose or duty
- fitnessGood physical shape
survival · Darwinism · organ function · instinct · behavior · trait · vestigial · maladaptation · spandrel · homology
teleologymechanism
Means by which something operates
materialism · reductionism · physicalism · determinism · atomism
teleologychance
Likelihood of occurrence
randomness · purposelessness · aimlessness · accident · contingency